The Mindy Project Recap: Rebounding With Schmidt

New Girl 's Max Greenfield crosses over.

By
Lauren Hoffman

Apr 16, 2014

Episode: 19 ("Think Like a Peter")

True story: When I realized New Girls Max Greenfield was guest-starring on last nights The Mindy Project, I yelled, Schmidt in the house! despite the fact that I was alone in my apartment and have never said in the house before. He was a great addition to an episode dedicated to the many forms a post-breakup rebound can take  a natural successor to last weeks two-part festival of feelings. Who rebounded with whom, and will any of it go anywhere? Here's the breakdown:

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Mindy and Phil

Weve all had a Phil. Hes the dude you go out with at the urging of a friend, even when youre not really ready for or excited by the idea. Hes the guy who sincerely asks if youre getting up to get a refill on sexy and then sweetly says your cup is already overflowing. He's good on paper, despite the cheesy lines. And he's the guy Mindy cant stand. Even though she hates him, she agrees to go to Vermont with him to look at off-season foliage. (Barf.) Thankfully, Peter hijacks her phone and sends Phil a breakup text. Mindy, meantime, had been writing a five-page breakup letter to him anyway. Note to Fox: The full text of that letter must eventually become a DVD extra.

Theres a real Liz Lemon/Wesley Snipes from 30 Rock vibe between the two of them  I could totally see Mindy and Phil as each others "settling soulmates"  but I believe Mindy when she firmly rebuffs all of Phils wink-wink-nudge-nudge insinuations that theyll end up together someday. No good can come from a relationship with a man who cleans his orchid so fastidiously. (That is not a euphemism.)

Mindy and Lee

Truthfully, it was a little odd seeing Max Greenfield playing a character who was almost-but-not-quite Schmidt, although it did make me wish that The Mindy Project and New Girl were interchangeable universes. Who wouldnt want to see, say, Nick Miller and Danny Castellano playing one-on-one or getting into a random bar brawl or something? Shouldnt being TV air-time neighbors make that possible?

To prove there have to be better choices than Phil out there, Peter takes Mindy out to meet men. Hes dressed as a sailor, which I find unlikely, off-putting, and irresistible, in that order. The two of them spy Lee  resplendent in distressed jeans and an artfully draped hipster scarf  and Mindy literally wedges herself between him and the chick hes flirting with to introduce herself. He negs her, she plays hard to get, and then they sleep together  a love story for the ages! Seriously, though, their chemistry and banter are really adorable, and Peter makes an awesome wingman, so I was just as disappointed as Mindy when she woke to find Lee had left, leaving only his scarf behind. Convinced that its some Cinderella-shoe shenanigans, Mindy tracks Lee down at the school where he teaches first grade.

Im a little iffy on the idea that Mindy would barge into an elementary school classroom with a scarf and an anecdote about a one-night stand. Sure, shes a romantic, but shes also an adult. Ill allow it because this line from Lee was great: It is drawing time, you guys. You do not interrupt drawing time! His indignation about drawing time notwithstanding, it turns out Lees a real jerk, and a married jerk, at that. Sorry, pal, but you dont get to sleep around just because youre wearing a wedding band instead of a wedding ring.

Stiil, its not a total loss. Thanks to this micro-fling, we now know that Mindy really sleeps with: a bunch of magazines, a cookie tin, a bottle of Sriracha, a sleeping bag, her diet pills, and her birth control. Its very smart of her: Every single girl knows that the unused half of the bed is basically just the biggest shelf in her house.

Danny and everyone

In an episode about rebounds, I wouldve expected to see Danny bedding pharmaceutical reps, looking up old girlfriends, or finding easy targets at bars. And so it was a pleasant surprise to see Danny not on the rebound for a lover, but for a friend. When he discovers Morgan and Tamra making out in the pantry (Dont you knock?? Its a pantry.), he dives right in, counseling both them and Tamras boyfriend, Ray Ron. It turns out Ray Ron isnt angry because their relationship is open as long as theres no 'tration, and if I never hear penetration shortened that way again, itll be way too soon.

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Dannys so desperate that he even tries to bond with Betsy over the spider she kills, terming the event Spidergate and asking for constant updates. Theres something properly pathetic about seeing Danny ask his co-workers if theyd like to come into his office, lay down on the floor, and talk about their feelings. (If hes asking, though, I totally volunteer as tribute.) It makes it seem as though he truly did believe that by breaking it off with Mindy, hed have his best friend back right away. Its clear from the way Mindy avoids him, even when offered hot gossip, that shes not up for friendship anytime soon, and he may have alienated the rest of his co-workers, too. After the Ray Ron debacle, Danny asks Morgan if theyre good, and Morgan replies, Im good. At being mad at you. Its okay, Morgan. Were all still a little mad at Danny.